“Why would you want that?” I asked, looking at this new person in a completely different light. God knows I probably wouldn’t want to jump into bed with her NOW. Suicidal women were never my type, and man, when you’re homeless you sure run into a bunch of them.
“I’m ready to start over.” She said it so matter-of-factly. As if she was just deciding to eat at a certain fast-food restaurant instead of committing hara-kiri.
“What do you mean, ‘start over’?”
“You know, every time you die you start a new life.”
“I’ve never heard that one.”
“You should look into it, it’s a very cleansing thing.” Okay, now this woman had me completely spun around. I’d heard some crazy things since I’d been here, but this was pretty new.
“I’m ready to start over.” She said it so matter-of-factly. As if she was just deciding to eat at a certain fast-food restaurant instead of committing hara-kiri.
“What do you mean, ‘start over’?”
“You know, every time you die you start a new life.”
“I’ve never heard that one.”
“You should look into it, it’s a very cleansing thing.” Okay, now this woman had me completely spun around. I’d heard some crazy things since I’d been here, but this was pretty new.
Remember where you are.
“So could you explain to me how that maneuver works?” I found myself being strangely curious now.
“Sure. Haven’t you ever heard of birth, death and rebirth? Just like the seasons? It’s a very natural thing. Every time we die we are reborn. Death is just a process through which we achieve new life. Everybody does it, its just that some people don’t understand that that’s the way it goes.” She came off like a college professor explaining advanced metaphysics to a starry-eyed freshman. Her words came out so easily. She must completely believe all of this.
“How’d you come to find this out?”
“Just through observation. It gets pretty obvious after a while. If you look hard enough at the world around you, the truth jumps out at you eventually. You really can’t avoid it. If you don’t learn about it while you’re alive, you find out when you die. For some its too late though.” Her eyes drifted downwards and her voice trailed off.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, some people live their lives as if there’s no tomorrow. They don’t look to the future enough. So when they die, nothing gets better. They have literally gone down the wrong road while they were alive.”
“So what happens to them?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never met one of them.” She was gazing out at the people in the break patio. I looked in the same direction. I spotted Darc and he waved at me. I waved back. He gave me the thumbs up and smiled.
“Is that your friend?” she asked.
“Yep.”
“He’s cute.” She was still looking at him.
“I can see how someone could say that.”
"Anyway, I’ve got to go.” She stood up to leave.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m tired, I’m going to go take a nap.” She stood up and began to walk away. I couldn’t help but stare. This girl had captured my attention even though she was in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt.
“Sleep well!” For some reason I was still interested in impressing this girl.
“So could you explain to me how that maneuver works?” I found myself being strangely curious now.
“Sure. Haven’t you ever heard of birth, death and rebirth? Just like the seasons? It’s a very natural thing. Every time we die we are reborn. Death is just a process through which we achieve new life. Everybody does it, its just that some people don’t understand that that’s the way it goes.” She came off like a college professor explaining advanced metaphysics to a starry-eyed freshman. Her words came out so easily. She must completely believe all of this.
“How’d you come to find this out?”
“Just through observation. It gets pretty obvious after a while. If you look hard enough at the world around you, the truth jumps out at you eventually. You really can’t avoid it. If you don’t learn about it while you’re alive, you find out when you die. For some its too late though.” Her eyes drifted downwards and her voice trailed off.
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“Well, some people live their lives as if there’s no tomorrow. They don’t look to the future enough. So when they die, nothing gets better. They have literally gone down the wrong road while they were alive.”
“So what happens to them?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never met one of them.” She was gazing out at the people in the break patio. I looked in the same direction. I spotted Darc and he waved at me. I waved back. He gave me the thumbs up and smiled.
“Is that your friend?” she asked.
“Yep.”
“He’s cute.” She was still looking at him.
“I can see how someone could say that.”
"Anyway, I’ve got to go.” She stood up to leave.
“Where are you going?”
“I’m tired, I’m going to go take a nap.” She stood up and began to walk away. I couldn’t help but stare. This girl had captured my attention even though she was in a pair of sweats and a t-shirt.
“Sleep well!” For some reason I was still interested in impressing this girl.
Going for the psycho chicks now?
“In here, you don’t have much of a choice, do you?” she said in a joking manner as she walked over to the nurses counter to pick up a little paper cup. We ALL slept well in here. The pills took care of that little challenge.
I looked back toward the break area window. Darc was motioning for me to join him. Why not? I still needed to figure out how to avoid the next oncoming catastrophe.
“In here, you don’t have much of a choice, do you?” she said in a joking manner as she walked over to the nurses counter to pick up a little paper cup. We ALL slept well in here. The pills took care of that little challenge.
I looked back toward the break area window. Darc was motioning for me to join him. Why not? I still needed to figure out how to avoid the next oncoming catastrophe.
Two hours till nightfall.
Blow me.